Olivia Wilde’s Documentary Half the Sky Airs Tonight on PBS

Last year Olivia Wilde landed her dream role: appearing in a documentary about women who are fiercely dedicated to improving lives on a global scale. In a two-part special, that film, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, airs tonight and tomorrow on PBS at 9/8c. The making of the movie, based on the best-seller by husband-and-wife Pulitzer Prize–winning reporters Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, had Wilde going to Kenya to see firsthand the hard-fought accomplishments being made by women who are building businesses, gaining independence, and creating opportunities within their communities. The actress’s frequent visits to Haiti for the charity Artists for Peace and Justice, not to mention her pedigree (both Mom and Dad are journalists), made her an apt choice for the project. Still, nothing prepared Wilde for what she saw there. “On the day we landed,” she recalls, “my world was blown open.” Scroll down to watch a preview of the documentary. Then, visit halftheskymovement.org and follow @half on Twitter to get more details, donate, and to join the movement.